


ten of wands

by icemachine



Series: major arcana [4]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek (Comics), Star Trek Online
Genre: M/M, One Night Stands, but like with emotion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-12 19:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18453011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemachine/pseuds/icemachine
Summary: The rough look of Tovan reminds Shev of himself; immediately his intuition says "he has been through so much". When you have been traumatized, you can recognize trauma in others immediately. It is Tovan’s disposition, the way he carries himself, the way he studies Shev in a suspicious manner, the shine of fear in his eyes that hasn’t left since their meeting.





	ten of wands

**Author's Note:**

> i love the idea of them together. gays

i.

 

“I still don’t get why  _ I  _ have to be here,” says Shev, as their shuttle slams into a land on the mint grasses of New Romulus. “I mean, you couldn’t have taken Grace instead? Or Vel? Vel loves this stuff.”

 

Lucia gives him a dramatic eye-roll, flashes a smile. “Grace is taking an extra semester, Vel just started his field training. You know that.”

 

“Right,” he sighs. “We’re the lucky ones, ‘cause—”

 

“— _ diplomats and security officers have simple jobs, _ ” Lucia finishes. “You’ve said that three million times. We may not navigate starships or help sick people, but… our jobs are important. And we’ve already graduated, so it’s a little late to change your focus.”

 

They climb out of the shuttle. He must admit that New Romulus is beautiful—puddles of pink gleaming water, diamond-shaped plants, the air a comforting bite. The work that has been done on terraforming the planet is - admirable. Lucia is here to keep relations between the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans peaceful; she’s  _ good  _ at what she does, she’s always been the serene force in Shev’s life, the only one who can calm him and save him.

 

Shev, however, was recommended by Lucia to protect the team of Romulans that discovered this planet, back when it was uninhabited and called Dewa III. He’s a guard.

 

Which, he knows, is what security officers  _ do.  _ That’s what he signed up for, but this planet… it’s making him unbearably  _ nervous _ . Lucia is escorting him to meet his new Romulan friends, but after that she has to report elsewhere—effectively abandoning him. 

 

Okay. He can get used to this. He only has to be here for two weeks. He can make it two weeks.

 

ii.

 

Centurion V’Rex is an intimidating man.

 

He doesn’t try to be, but intimidation is a a tactic that envelops you when the Tal Shiar want you dead. The scar across his right cheek—the one that comes  _ dangerously  _ close to his eye, the one that Tovan still worries about—cements in the fear, and the half-shaved head doesn’t exactly soften him.

 

Tovan knows V’Rex, through every possible aspect of the mind. Being hunted has not brutalized him; instead it made him kinder. He wants to save everyone. He wants to make the universe a safe place, where no one will ever face harm.

 

Tovan is too jaded to believe in fantasies like that, but he admires V’Rex for his innocence. After every drop of blood spilled, every life taken—he’s still  _ innocent. _

 

They had met a few times on Virinat before the attack, but only in passing, a few words and forced smiles exchanged. Now they are inseparable, and Tovan would do anything for him.

 

That’s why he immediately distrusts the Andorian ensign that’s supposed to protect them.  _ Fresh out of Starfleet Academy,  _ D’Tan had said.  _ I’ve heard great things about Shev and his friends. You’ll be in good hands. _

 

_ “Why can’t I just do it?” Tovan asked. “I’m better than any Starfleet ensign, you know that.” _

 

_ “Don’t you ever get tired of fighting?” was D’Tan’s only response, and Tovan had never considered it before. He has never thought about himself, only others. _

 

_ Maybe it’s time to let someone else do the fighting, he told himself. Just for now. _

 

Satra is away, working with other scientists on analyzing soil, and Veril is—

 

He doesn’t actually know where Veril is. If he had to guess, though: probably working herself to death with the other engineers. She once confided in him that she works because it helps her forget about her father, but she was also uncomfortably full of synthale.

 

Regardless: he’s alone with V’Rex, and Shev looks like he’s bored out of his mind.

 

“I’m Shev Akria,” he mumbles. “Starfleet security officer. I was appointed by D’Tan to accompany you, V’Rex, and the other members of your team during your time on New Romulus in case of any hostile situations.”

 

V’Rex smiles, pure. “It’s nice to meet you. This is my tactical officer and best friend, Tovan Khev.”

 

“Hi,” Tovan says sheepishly.

 

Shev does not reach for V’Rex’s hand; instead he motions for Tovan’s only, and the skin contact makes Tovan freeze and shiver. If Tovan didn’t know any better, he’d think that Shev—

He knows better.

 

iii.

 

V’Rex is - nice, he supposes, but the rough look of Tovan reminds Shev of himself; immediately his intuition says  _ he has been through so much.  _ When you have been traumatized, you can recognize trauma in others immediately. It is Tovan’s disposition, the way he carries himself, the way he studies Shev in a suspicious manner, the shine of fear in his eyes that hasn’t left since their meeting. 

 

Shev is not soft, isn’t  _ weak,  _ but something sick - rotten - disgusting thing buried inside of him says that he has to help. It is the same feeling he experiences around Lucia, Grace, T’Laan, and Vel—but he’s known them for years. Shev has only known Tovan for two hours. What is so intriguing about him? The tattoo over his right eye, the shiver he exposed when they touched? How can he possibly feel this way about someone he barely knows? Shev, again, is not weak.

 

_ Compassion isn’t weak,  _ Lucia would say—he can hear her in his mind.  _ It actually makes you stronger. _

  
  
  


Shev is standing outside of their quarters; they’re up high, he’s gazing over the edge at the alluring sight of New Romulus, and Tovan can only feel the stars inside of him stir at the sight of it.

 

Shev is interesting. For someone fresh out of Starfleet Academy, that is.

 

He jumps at the sight of Tovan.

 

“Sorry if I scared you,” says Tovan. “I just needed some fresh air… I didn’t know you were here.”

 

“It’s late… you should be asleep.”

 

“What do they teach you in the Academy? Romulans don’t sleep.”

 

“I didn’t know—”

 

Tovan feels guilty at the sight of Shev’s face darkening into a deeper blue. “No, I was joking, Shev. We do sleep.”

 

“Oh.”

 

_ He thinks about how he never makes jokes with Veril or Satra, thinks about how he’s only been casually vulnerable around V’Rex a few, select times. What is this boy doing to him? _

 

“I was just struggling, I guess,” Tovan admits. “I’ve got a lot going on. It’s hard to sleep.”

 

A pause.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Shev asks, a soft, brave whisper.  Does he? How can Tovan ever talk about the pain?

 

“Not really,” he replies. “I don’t think you’d understand.”

 

“You might be surprised.”

 

“Fine…” Tovan shrugs, exhales. He moves closer to Shev, for some inexplicable reason; the rough look of Shev reminds Tovan of him. Closer, he moves—he’s in Shev’s air, now, arm brushing against arm, he doesn’t pull away,  and Shev - Shev looks -

 

flustered.

 

“I’m being hunted by an oppressive regime, my sister might be dead, my best friend is gonna get himself killed one of these days… you can imagine the kind of stress I’m under.” He swallows down his anxiety. “I bet you can’t top that.”

 

“You’re right, I can’t,” Shev responds. “Well, I might be able to, but it would be… unprofessional… to share my life story with someone I’ve been assigned to.”

 

_ Oh, of course.  _ “Right, I forgot you’re Stafleet.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean, Khev?”

 

(Hearing Shev use his last name in such a harsh tone makes Tovan—)

 

“It just means—okay, fine. It just means that everyone from there I’ve met has been a cold workaholic that thinks they know what’s best for Romulans without ever consulting us.”

 

He can see Shev trying to control his anger, his fists balled, fingernails pressed into his palms, and Tovan feels the guilt hit him, unbearable and bright. “And how many Starfleet officers have you met?” Shev asks through his apparently sharpened teeth. 

 

Tovan feels - he  _ feels.  _ Sick. Feels intrigue. Feels guilt. Feels.

 

“A few,” Tovan says. “Been a bit busy trying not to get killed.”

 

Shev grabs him by the shoulder. “Maybe I should show you what we’re really like,” he says—

 

—and his hands are in Tovan’s hair before Tovan can say  _ maybe you should  _ & Shev kisses with a passion similar to the passionate sharpness that flows through  _ him,  _ Tovan pressed up against the wall overlooking the serene light & it is a mixture of the kind and wild, Shev biting his bottom lip to a mess of green—

 

and then he’s pushing Tovan through the door & back into his room. The night ends like this.

 

v.

 

“So,” Tovan says, feeling Shev’s head rest on his chest. “Talking about your past is unprofessional, but sleeping with me somehow isn’t?”

 

“Shut up.” He places one arm over Tovan’s torso,  _ closer.   _ “But I’ll tell you. If you want.”

 

vi.

 

_ Shev tells him everything about his father, about his life before Starfleet, about being accused of a crime he didn’t commit, his entire life— _

 

_ Tovan doesn’t talk, only listens. _

 

_ Maybe this is what he needs, maybe this is what he has always needed, in two weeks he will leave New Romulus, and they will never speak again. For now:  he heals.  _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> pls kudos+comment if u enjoyed


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